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Contacts

Contact:

Sue Burke

Macmillan Cancer Nurse Specialist

Organisation:

Hartlepool PCT

United Kingdom

Tel:

01429 267901

Email:

Contact:

Paul Howatson

Project Manager – End of Life Care

Organisation:

NHS North East

c/o Hartlepool and District Hospice Alice House United Kingdom

Case study:

11 May 2010

Care Home Managers’ Forum in Hartlepool


Key points

  • A Care Homes Managers’ Forum has helped to direct training in palliative and end of life care
  • A regional conference has led to increased take-up of university courses

Following requests from care homes for up-to-date palliative care training, the Macmillan Nurses and PCT in Hartlepool organised some training sessions.

As a result the Care Home Managers’ Forum was formed and after an initial meeting organised a regional conference in the North East of England to raise awareness of end of life issues in care homes.

The conference, entitled Passionate about Care, was attended by 300 delegates from care homes (nursing and personal care) across the North of England.

It increased interest in provision of palliative/end of life care in care homes and resulted in more demand for training.

To date 50 health care assistants have completed a level-one work book and 16 qualified staff have completed the university-run palliative care course.

In addition these key workers are planning to meet every six weeks for an update and journal club.

The key worker meetings will be facilitated by the Macmillan Nursing Team and will be used to identify best practice and new avenues for palliative care training in the care homes sector.

Organisers now hope to extend the scope of training for registered nurses to issues such as verification of expected deaths, syringe drivers, symptom relief and bereavement.


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